Salesman fined for selling customer data to rival firms

A former sales consultant has been fined after pleading guilty to unlawfully retaining and selling thousands of customer records from the car leasing company he worked for in Hertfordshire.

Alexander Doré, 44, was found to have taken over 3,600 pieces of personal information from the internal customer database of Leaseline Vehicle Management before resigning from his role.

Doré sold the data to multiple competitor companies, falsely claiming ownership of the information.

The breach was discovered in November 2022 and investigated by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Doré pleaded guilty to breaching section 170 of the Data Protection Act 2018, which covers the unlawful obtaining and selling of data.

He appeared at St Albans Crown Court on 17 September and was ordered to pay a £1,200 fine and £300 in costs.

Andy Curry, head of investigations at the ICO, said: “Customers trust organisations to handle their data legally and responsibly. Mr Doré violated that trust by selling customer information purely for personal financial gain.

“We thank Leaseline Vehicle Management for bringing this issue to our attention, allowing us to investigate.”

The ICO has reiterated its commitment to working with companies to prosecute individuals who engage in illegal data practices.